Into the Wilderness (and Out of the Closet)
by TheObscureFluffs
Summary: [takes place one week after the 'Into the Wilderness' episode] Knuckles tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't get the thought out of his head. He had jumped into Sonic's arms, but he wasn't dropped; Sonic even carried him for a few steps. Was there a reason, or was he merely overthinking things? (slightly AU Sonic Boom universe)


Sonic stuck his tongue out to the side as he waggled the joystick on his controller back and forth. He'd just gotten a new fighting game, so he was determined to teach himself all the moves. It was always fun showing Knuckles how to play since the echidna was generally pretty clueless; he'd catch on quickly though.

 _Wonder what he's up to,_ Sonic thought, a little curious as to if he'd see Knuckles today or not.

Not too much later, Knuckles himself suddenly poked his head into the doorway.

"Hey, um… am I interrupting anything?"

"Hm?"

Sonic paused the game, then glanced over. "Nah, not really. What's up, Knux?" he asked.

"Can…can I talk to you about something?" Knuckles asked. He seemed slightly nervous.

Sonic raised a brow, then shrugged. "Uh, sure, I guess."

He set his controller down, shifting positions so he was facing Knuckles, showing that he was giving the echidna his undivided attention.

Knuckles came inside and sat down opposite of Sonic.

"W-well, um…" He hesitated. "So… you remember last week when I got all freaked out and kinda… jumped into your arms?" He blushed in embarrassment at the memory.

Sonic stared up at the ceiling, summoning the memory, then nodded his head. "Yeah, what about it?"

The experience had actually been strange for him. When the cup exploded in his hand, he'd found it odd that Knuckles jumped _towards it_ and into his arms, though he never said anything.

"Well… I've been wondering," Knuckles replied. "How come you didn't just drop me or something?"

He laughed nervously. "I-I know it's a dumb thing to ask about, but I was just kinda surprised, ya know?"

Sonic's eyes widened slightly, surprised at the question. "Uhh, why do ya ask?" he questioned. "Just curious…?"

"Yeah, just curious," Knuckles replied. "Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Sonic was quiet for a moment, debating on how to respond, then sheepishly scratched his cheek. "Well, er… I dunno," he admitted. "I guess it just… didn't bother me?" He smiled weakly. "You _were_ kinda warm and stuff though."

Knuckles blushed. "I-I was?"

Sonic nodded, though blushing mildly and averting his gaze; this was _not_ something he expected he'd talk about today.

"So… it didn't bother you?" Knuckles lifted a brow. "I'd figured you'd be annoyed about it."

"What? Nah," Sonic said, waving a hand dismissively. "S'hard to annoy me when it comes to you, bud."

"R-really?" Knuckles replied, blushing once more.

Sonic blushed just as much as he realized what he said. "U-uhh, yeah!" He grinned shyly and put a hand behind his head. "I mean, we're really good friends an' all, aren't we? Ehehe…"

"R-right!" Knuckles averted his gaze and laughed nervously. He suppressed a disappointed sigh.

Sonic frowned, then glanced back at him. "Why _did_ you jump into my arms anyway?" he asked.

"O-oh, uh… I-I dunno," Knuckles stammered. He was blushing even more now, and he wished he could make it stop.

Sonic raised a brow disbelievingly, seeing Knuckles' nervousness. "You don't, huh?"

"N-nope!" Knuckles tried to appear more confident, but failed. "I-it was just… a-a thing I did, ya know? Ehehehe…"

" _Knux…_ " Sonic said. "Y'know you can tell me anything, right?"

Knuckles was silent for a moment. "B-but… what if it's something that could make you not want to be friends anymore?"

Sonic stared at Knuckles, confused, then laughed. "What would you possibly have to say that'd break up our friendship?" He grinned. "We should be able to tell each other everything, right?"

 _Then what's_ your _excuse?_ he inwardly heckled himself, though not allowing it to show on his face.

Knuckles hesitated. His heart was pounding.

 _Come on Knuckles, don't chicken out now…_

He took a few deep breaths. "W-well, um… Ikindasortamaybehaveacrushonyou," he blurted. He buried his face in his hands from embarrassment and whimpered, waiting for the inevitable rejection he'd surely get.

Sonic's heart practically stopped, his ears twitching sporadically at Knuckles' words. _Did he just…?_

He crawled closer to Knuckles, then reached up, pulling the echidna's hands away from his face. "Wait, say that again," he told him, wanting to be sure.

Knuckles gulped, avoiding Sonic's gaze. "I-I…I like you. I mean, _like_ like you." He was shaking terribly, afraid of what Sonic would say.

Sonic's entire muzzle went red. "You…"

He swallowed nervously, feeling his heart pounding. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I was scared to," Knuckles admitted. "I mean, how could _you_ ever like _me?_ "

He sighed. "C-can we still be friends?" he asked hopefully.

Sonic frowned, sad that Knuckles would talk like that.

He released Knuckles' hands, moving his grip to his friend's shoulders.

"If you put a 'boy' in front of that 'friend', it's a deal," he said softly.

"H-huh?" Knuckles blushed at the close contact. "W-what do you mean?"

"You heard me," Sonic replied, though his voice a bit shaky. "I…I want to be your boyfriend."

Knuckles' eyes went wide in surprise. "Y-you…you do?"

Sonic nodded in reply, giving him a sheepish grin.

Suddenly, Knuckles' arms were around him in a bear hug.

"Yeeeee! I'm so happy!" he exclaimed, nuzzling Sonic affectionately.

Sonic chuckled, blushing at the sudden treatment he was getting.

"Hehe, careful, Knux! If you get any happier, you're gonna crush me!" he said, though jokingly.

Knuckles giggled. He pulled away from the hug, but placed his hands on Sonic's shoulders.

"So, uh… what do boyfriends _do_ exactly?" he asked.

Sonic shrugged. "I dunno," he admitted. "This?"

He leaned up, placing a quick kiss on Knuckles' cheek.

Knuckles blushed and smiled. "Y-yeah, kisses are good!"

Sonic smiled too, then tilted his head slightly, as if tempting Knuckles to give him a cheek kiss back.

Knuckles nervously took a deep breath, then kissed Sonic... on the lips.

Sonic stiffened, his ears perking and turning red. He expected a kiss on the cheek, but _this_ …

…this was actually really nice.

"Mm…"

Sonic's eyelids fell slightly as he slowly pulled Knuckles closer, kissing him back.

Knuckles internally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like he had butterflies swarming around in his stomach as he and his new boyfriend shared their first kiss.

Sonic felt butterflies too. He'd never thought about what was so special about a kiss, but this was an amazing experience that made him quickly realize it.

After a while, Knuckles had to pull away to catch his breath.

"That… wow," was all he could say.

Sonic nodded, though trying to hide his blush. "Y-yeah, _wow_." He was embarrassed at how flustered he was.

"S-so… now what do we do?" Knuckles asked. "I've never dated anyone before, so I don't know how it works," he admitted sheepishly.

"Me neither," Sonic said. He thought for a moment, then smirked and sat on Knuckles' lap.

"Maybe you could hold me this time?" he suggested.

Knuckles grinned. "Sounds good to me!"

Sonic chuckled, 'hanging' onto Knuckles similar to how Knuckles hung onto him when the situation was reversed.

Knuckles blushed, giggling softly.

"Oooh, wanna go to Meh Burger in a bit? We…we could make it a date, if you want."

"Hehe, alright," Sonic replied. He then leaned against Knuckles' chest, letting out a small noise to show that he was content.

"It's a date."


End file.
